The Heart Grows Fonder
by DemonCookie1
Summary: Seto left without a word after graduation. 10 years later, he comes back. Katsuya is dealing with an abusive fiance, and Seto isn't making things any easier. Future SxJ
1. prologue

Disclaimer: In a nutshell….I own nothing. Please don't sue! 

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. It's basically a reunion fic, but who exactly is reunited and what problems arise, you'll find out later. . I don't think even I know yet. O.o aaaaany way….ON WITH THE FIC! HUZZAH!

'thoughts'  
"speech"  
/flashback/

WARNINGS: hinted lemons, alcohol and nicotine abuse, a little angsty, (in the first few chapters any way) and MAJOR OOC-NESS!

Prologue

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It was hot.

No….scratch that. Hot was an understatement. The tiny apartment was blazing. Or at least that's the way it felt to the blond figure stretched out on the blue carpet; which had become slightly stained after years of abuse from cigarette smoke and spilled beverages.

The truth was, it was only room temperature inside the worn down building. But even bare, with the exception of a thin white sheet, the relatively young man felt like he was surrounded by thick, muggy, humid air that could only develop in the late summer. Seeing as Autumn was just beginning, and if any thing it had been a bit cool lately, he could automatically rule that out. Maybe he was feverish. It wasn't uncommon for city smog to make people sick, after all.

"Great" he grumbled to him self with a quiet half-sigh, half-groan. Getting sick was the very last thing he needed.

Almost to comfort him at that thought, but more than likely just the body rolling over in it's sleep, a tired arm reached over to circle around him, making the heat all the more unbearable. He was damn tempted to push the arm away and maybe go find a nice place alone on the couch, but he knew that'd only wake it's owner up. That was one thing he dreaded even more than a pollution induced fever.

Jounouchi Katsuya had been seeing Hiroshi for nearly 10 years now. He and his….boyfriend for a lack of a better word, moved in together shortly after graduation. Now 28, he had yet to leave the man. He'd been an assistant teacher, well on his way to getting his degree, before Hiroshi decided that Katsuya's place was at home, taking care of his "future husband." He'd given up on his career, definitely not by choice, and had just barely hung onto his social life, still keeping in touch with his old friends. Well…except for one. Mr. Seto Kaiba, infamous CEO of Kaiba Corp.

'Seto Kaiba…' the name repeated it's self in his mind, often, haunting him again tonight. Seto had left the day after graduation, like Katsuya knew he would, as he always told him.

"Don't get too attached, I'm going home after school's over." Home. Home for Seto turned out to be a small town outside of Osaka, where he was born, and lived while he was still very young. The place he came from before his step father, Kaiba Corp., and before Domino. Before Katsuya. Granted, the town wasn't all THAT far, but he never really gave his previous lover a phone number or address to let him know where to find him. Neither of the two even thought to keep in touch when they parted. And of course, Katsuya had gone against his advice, and had indeed gotten quite attached to the young businessman. So attached that he'd literally fainted, when he read it in a local paper.

Seto Kaiba was coming back to Domino.

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Seto looked with a grimace, at the article on the front page of Domino's Sunday paper. A world famous business man leaves for 10 years, and suddenly he's a top story. What WAS the world coming to? He chuckled a bit at the thought and pinched the bridge of his nose, as if to ward off an oncoming headache. His decision to return was spontaneous, as his actual return was supposed to be, but he'd made the mistake of purchasing a new home ahead of time and there's really no such thing as privacy when you're Seto Kaiba.

So, his face was in the paper. At the very least, it provided him with a bit of entertainment as he sat in the back seat of the limo, leg crossed over his knee and foot tapping impatiently while he waited to arrive at his beachside 4 bedroom home. Small and quaint. That was definitely something new to him. But at the same time, a somewhat pleasant change. He'd left Domino to begin a new life, and he intended to come back as a different person. Or maybe just the real him that no one got to know. Except, of course, for one person….but he wasn't going to get into that. That was long over, and had been all through the 10 years he hadn't spoken to this "certain person." He didn't doubt that the teenaged blond boy he remembered hated him now, just like he used to back then. Who wouldn't, after a decade with not so much as a postcard? Or maybe he'd just forgotten him. That's what he hoped for. Maybe then he could forget about Katsuya too, like he'd been trying to do for so long.

Fate did him a favor and jerked him away from the thoughts he was trying not to have though, literally, as something…or some one….crashed hard into the rear end of his limo.

"RAMONE! (1) What the HELL was that! I thought I hired you for a reason. You know, that perfect safety record and all, and that NO ACCIDENT HISTORY! I could've been ki---" ahead of him, the driver of said limo, sighed in just a moment of bliss as he could barely hear his boss's ranting through the soundproof window separating the two of them. As much as he hated to admit it……at least out loud…..Seto Kaiba was.an.asshole.

Said asshole began to furiously pound on the glass, almost seemingly reading the driver's mind, and Ramone sighed as he could no longer pretend to not hear him. "I believe some one has crashed into us, sir." Seto sat, shocked and dumbfounded, for a few moments before he went back to yelling. "Well, NO SHIT, you fucking genius. I didn't guess that when my head went colliding into the front seat!" For the second time that day, he felt the need to pinch the bridge of his nose and shake off an oncoming headache. "Never mind. I'll take care of it." He figured his driver was useless by this point any way, and some man--whom he presumed was the one that had hit his limo in the first place--was tapping on his black and purple tinted window with a fist wrapped up in one from a pair of homemade gloves.

"Hey listen, I'm really sorry about that, traffic's been hell lately and I've got a screaming kid in my back seat--" Seto blinked a few times, half listening as he took in the man's appearance. The neatly trimmed short black hair with a slight purple hue, sharp angular jaw that gave him a bit of an older appearance even with his childish frame, and unforgettable large, round, violet eyes.

"Yuugi?"

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(You thought I was gonna end the chapter there, didn't you? XP)

"I heard you were coming back, Seto, but I didn't imagine that would be the way we'd bump into each other." The two men were currently sitting in a booth at an old diner Domino was famous for, Yuugi talking in between bites of chili cheese fries and Seto listening while sipping at a glass of water. To be honest, he'd been surprised to see Yuugi too. No doubt that if the whole group was still here in Domino, he'd eventually run into them, but like the smaller man had said, more than likely not by one of them crashing into his limo. The "kid" Yuugi had mentioned earlier was sitting in a carrier next to whom Seto was assuming is the father, gurgling softy and tugging at a winter's hat that covered his ears. "So…who's the lucky girl?" Seto figured he'd finally ask, as his curiosity was getting the better of him. "Huh? Oh… Oh! No one. He isn't mine. This is Miles, (2) Shizuka's son. I'm just the designated babysitter on Friday nights." Yuugi chuckled at his own joke. Shizuka…..the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. (3) Ah, right…..

She was Katsuya's sister.

Seto nearly choked on his water and Yuugi, automatically panicking, reached over to rub the CEO's back. "Are you ok? What's wrong?" A bit of a coughing fit, and he finally recovered enough to catch his breath, then speak. "That's Katsuya's nephew." Shining violet eyes blinking like he DIDN'T know what had happened 10 years ago served to irritate Seto even more, but that was nothing compared to what Yuugi said next, that damn near made a tiny vein in his eye burst. "Yep! He's meeting us here soon to come pick him up. I just texted him."

Fate felt like being a particular bitch today. Before Seto could speak, he heard the tiny bell hanging above the diner's door ring, and in walked the one person the great Seto Kaiba was really afraid of seeing.

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Aaaaand, that's the actual end. I'm not joking this time…  
…………………………seriously, I'm not. XD I know it was short -.-;; BUT, It's only the prologue. The next chapter, if I get some proper feedback, wink wink, nudge nudge will be two or three times as long. . Sooo….good? Bad? What'd ya think? REVIEW!

(1) It was the first snobby limo driver name I could think of

(2) I don't own Uncle Buck

(3) Keep in mind that while they were dating, in high school, Shizuka was in another country. We'll find out more about her later.

Bye for now, my loves! again…don't forget to review!


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Me no own!

A/N: Ok, I meant to update this much, MUCH sooner, but my personal life keeps getting in the way. T.T sowwie! New chappy though, finally. YAY!

PS: From now on, I'll be switching between Katsuya's and Seto's POV. I hate writing third character. -.-

Previously:

-  
Shining violet eyes blinking like he DIDN'T know what had happened 10 years ago served to irritate Seto even more, but that was nothing compared to what Yuugi said next, that damn near made a tiny vein in his eye burst. "Yep! He's meeting us here soon to come pick him up. I just texted him."

Fate felt like being a particular bitch today. Before Seto could speak, he heard the tiny bell hanging above the diner's door ring, and in walked the one person the great Seto Kaiba was really afraid of seeing.  
-  
(Seto's POV)

And there he was…walking towards us. He smiled at Yuugi, and stopped just behind the booth I was sitting in, my back to him and my head turned just far enough to watch him out of the corner of my eye. I guess I was kidding my self when I thought this wouldn't be quite so….bizarre.

I tried to do my best to brush off my shock, like I'd called him up and we'd planned to get together. Celebrate my coming back to town and all. What a joke. I tried even harder to put on my old Kaiba façade and stayed quiet, stiff, almost looking like I didn't care that he was here. I DID care, but then it might've been a little closer to normal…you know, if I still seemed like the old me he remembered. I didn't want to act like we hadn't talked to each other for so long, or that I'd pretty much stabbed him in the back, OR that I didn't even write to apologize. I just really, REALLY wish I could become invisible right now. Maybe disappear into my seat. Not happening. Instead, I turned around to suddenly "notice" him standing there.

I guess he had the same idea as me, because he really didn't look all that surprised either. Act like the old Katsuya that I'd never left behind, sure. Or maybe Yuugi had just told him I'd be here in his last text message. Probably the latter. I knew the mutt was never all that great at hiding emotion, not to mention had a bit of an anger problem, last I checked… If he hadn't known he'd be seeing me for the first time in a decade, he'd probably at least be yelling by now. At the very least. But then I noticed…. he wasn't yelling. Infact, he wasn't really saying any thing. Just kind of standing there, his face completely emotionless, to the point where even I couldn't tell what he was thinking. He reminded me…of me. That scared me.

"Hey." Aaah, silence is broken. Thank you Yuugi.

He just blinked and smiled a little at his friend, nodding in my direction.

"Hi."

A nod…that wasn't bad. at least we were acknowledging each other. Even if it wasn't with our actual names. I was just trying to not seem like….well, a complete asshole. Again.

"…Remember me?"

Yes, right about now, I wanted to kick my self. Hard.

This time, he DID look surprised. Surprised, then glaring daggers.

"I wish I didn't."

Ouch.

And, he was grabbing his sleeping nephew and leaving $10 on the table for Yuugi so he could go; said friend sitting back and watching helplessly. I wasn't quite sure if he felt bad for me or Katsuya. Either way though, I didn't want to part just like that. Pretty much the same way we had years ago.

"Katsu, wait a second.." There. My old nickname for him. I'm getting really, really desperate here. Can you tell?

Well, he was walking back to the table, at least. Maybe the Kaiba charm still worked after all…a little rusty, but working.

"Please…sit down. We can just talk. I'll even buy you a latte."

'Now you just sound like some wannabe stud, dumbass. Shit!'

He didn't look too impressed.

"So you think you can win me over with coffee, and can't even give up your old stuck up pride to apologize to me?"

Ok….It's official. The Kaiba charm is dead.

"I've gotta get him home. Thanks again, Yuugi."

Yuugi smiled and waved at him as he left, and I didn't really think I was in the place to even open my mouth. So, I sat and tried to put on a new face. Look tall and proud like I used to, like I couldn't give two shits. There was only one person who could see through that, after all, so maybe it'd work.

I guess Yuugi did see it and take pity on me, as he scribbled something on a napkin and got up to leave. Just as he was standing up from the table though, he leaned in towards my ear.

"He comes here every day around noon."

And I think I might've smiled. No…it was definitely a smirk. I don't smile.

After I was done "smirking", I picked up the yellow piece of paper and stuffed it in my pocket before I left money on the table and walked out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"so what did you want to talk about?" The next day, Katsuya and I were sitting in the same booth, this time without the baby nephew or his irritating, yet very helpful, little shit of a best friend. Me fiddling with the clasp of my brief case, and him absently chewing on one of those little coffee straws. That little note he'd left me turned out to be a phone number and address, and I somehow managed to convince Katsuya to just sit down and have coffee with me. He probably knew I wouldn't leave any way, though he could've easily asked for his coffee to go…but I refused to get my hopes up just by that alone. There's a lot of reasons for people to put up with each other, no matter what the circumstances. Maybe just by simple inconvenience of loose plastic coffee lids and going back out into the cold weather, this time.

"Well….nothing really, just wanted to catch up, I guess."

"That doesn't sound too much like you."

"I've changed." I hoped. I don't want to be the same stuck up posh prick that I used to be. Wearing jeans is a start, isn't it?

"But the old Kaiba attitude didn't change much." Never mind. I still am. Fuck the jeans. I think I actually winced. Shit.

I looked up, and surprisingly enough, he didn't really look upset….maybe even amused. I still felt like an ass though.

"Don't worry about it….kinda reminded me of old times. And I guess I've changed too. 10 years will do that to you, won't it?"

"I suppose so." and, he really had changed. He'd aged very gracefully. At…28, if I remembered right, he didn't look much older than he had the last time I'd seen him. Just different. His hair had grown out past his shoulders, now almost falling down to the middle of his back, and had darkened considerably. It was almost a light brown now, but still had a touch of the same dirty blond he'd kept in high school. I wasn't sure if he'd dyed it, or it just grew that way as he got older. Bright honey brown eyes were still the same, if only just a bit softer and gentler now, something that also probably changes with age. He was always exceptionally good looking, that definitely hadn't changed. Still…something threw me off. Something VERY different that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I actually had to lean in for closer inspection, before I noticed a tiny silver stud adorning his right nostril. (1) Yes…yes, things had definitely changed.

"Hey Kaiba..?"

"Yeah?"

"I did it my self." (2) He was grinning now, and lightly tapped the side of his nose that'd caught my attention. I guess he noticed me staring at it. The casual conversation took the edge off though. I really hate struggling to think of something to talk about.

"You're insane, mutt. Sticking needles in your nose now….wasn't two nostrils enough for you?"

I was grinning back at him now. A little teasing couldn't hurt, if he didn't still look like he wanted to slap me.

"Nope. Wasn't one asshole enough for you?" I guess the ice was breaking a little. That was an inside joke from years ago. Katsuya had insisted on bringing home a dog once, and a not so friendly one too, that wound up biting me in a certain "backside" area. He refused to let me forget about it.

We were both laughing now even, when the waitress came around to re-fill each of our coffee cups. It felt nice….like the past 10 years hadn't happened, and we were still a couple of teenagers, going out together just to be around each other. Maybe he felt the same way, as he sipped at his coffee and let his shoulders slump, deep in thought. Awkward again…joy.

"So….what has the great Seto Kaiba been doing with his life lately? I wanna be the first to know." I swear, the boy has a talent for reading my mind. Once again that day, he'd managed to switch to a more comfortable subject, just when I was struggling for things to talk about. And, he was smiling again. That was good. It made me feel a bit more relaxed.

"I guess, nothing…when I left, I just needed a break. Couldn't keep living and breathing Kaiba Corp. So I lived off of the money I'd saved for a while, started a branch in Osaka and eventually decided it was time to come back here." He just nodded and stirred his coffee a bit, resting one cheek on the palm of his hand. I was hoping he was reminiscing, not just pretending to be interested.

"In love with any one besides your self?"

"You know I'm my one and only." He laughed at my joke, but I could tell he was a little disappointed, maybe hurt. Ok, topic change…

"No, not really. I've dated a little, but haven't been very interested in too many people…what about you?"

"I'm engaged, actually." I nearly dropped my coffee cup. That's when I noticed the three stone diamond ring on his right hand, that I was surprised I hadn't spotted before. Damn it. Well, I could pretend to be happy for him, right? I bit the inside of my lip until I thought I tasted that familiar metallic flavor of blood.

"Congratulations…to who?"

"Hiroshi. One of the guys we went to school with. Remember?"

Yeah, I remembered him. I remembered him being the biggest dickhead I'd ever met…..aside from my self.

"I think so. Not too well though. How did you wind up with him?"

"Well, he asked me out after you left, and it just sort of stuck." I knew I didn't have a right to lecture him, or act like some jealous ex…we were kids back then. We're both adults now. We can have an adult conversation without getting into some stupid argument. Yeah, keep telling your self that Kaiba, you know you wanna wring the little prick's neck. That's MY Katsu, damn it!

"I hope you two are happy together. When's the wedding?" I'm a good actor.

He sighed and shook his head , pinching the bridge of his nose like I do whenever I'm uncomfortable.

"I know you don't mean that, Seto…you've changed a lot, maybe even grown up a bit, but I have a hard time believing that you'd really get over all of this so easily and actually be glad for me. It's just not you. And yes. We're happy together."

Ok, so my acting skills are a little rusty like the Kaiba charm.

But, I'm the only one that can see through him. THAT is still perfectly rust free. I didn't say any thing though, just shrugged and stirred my coffee like he had been earlier, mostly out of nervous habit.

"Sorry if I don't like him much. It's not only that you're my ex, and there's probably some leftover feelings. I just know what he's like."

His coffee cup was empty now and he was reaching for his wallet, so I guessed that I'd crossed the invisible line and this time he wasn't going to wait for a free re-fill. Great.

"Just tell me…are you completely over me?" He made a sharp stop that caused his chair to screech across the tile floor.

"It's been 10 years. After 10 years, you just walked back into my life. You can't expect me to drop every thing in a day, whether I'm over you or not." And, he started to pull on his jacket.

"Then at least be careful." That made him pause for a second. I hoped that he was going to change his mind and stay, but he just nodded and walked out, making the tiny bell above the diner's glass door ring again. I wondered if he knew I noticed that he never answered my question, and I found my self reaching into my coat pocket to run my fingers along the paper napkin with his and Hiroshi's address scribbled onto it.

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YAY, this one was a little longer! Well…not too, too much longer, but a little. It's going on 11 am and I haven't had a chance to sleep yet, bite me. -.- besides, shorter chapters mean quicker updates. Same goes for more reviews. R&R! 

(1) He'd be hot with a nose ring.

(2) DO NOT DO THIS! self piercingsBAD! don't care what your excuse is, if you're too lazy to go get it done professionally, you'll be too lazy to go to the hospital with a severe infection. If you can't afford to get it done professionally, you can't afford to have a keloid removed. and if you're underage and your parents won't give you permission,  
do you really think they're gonna be very happy when they find out you stabbed your self in the nose (or various other body parts) behind their backs? Don't be a dumbass. Practice safe piercings. This is strictly fictional, don't use it as an example or think that I'm encouraging it.

ok, there's your daily momma lecture. XD bye bye every one! 


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